Garcia in line for ‘three-peat’

The 39-year-old first won the event in 2011 and, as it was not held between 2012 and 2016, has actually lifted the trophy the last three times it has been played.

However, he comes into the tournament having missed the cut in three of his last four starts while finishing in a share of 52nd at the US Open.

But the sight of Valderrama will surely inspire the 2017 Masters champion, as will the fact that it is a weak line-up for the latest European Tour event.

Fellow Spaniard and world number 11 Jon Rahm poses a serious threat after his third-place finish at Pebble Beach but he too had struggled ahead of the year’s third major (Rahm and Garcia 10.11, tie 16/1 72-Hole Matches).

England’s world number 30 Matthew Fitzpatrick (10/1) is the other big-name star making the trip to Cadiz and is fresh off a second-place finish at the BMW International in Germany.

The trio aside, the fact that the likes of Mike Lorenzo-Vera (25/1), Joost Luiten (20/1) and Julian Suri (25/1) feature so prominently in the outright betting suggests that Garcia’s best will be enough to see him there or thereabouts on Sunday.

The Ryder Cup ace has not been consistent in 2019 but still possesses the ability to turn it on, with six top-10s this season, including in the Wells Fargo Championship and WGC – Mexico Championship.

He loves playing in his homeland having won seven times in Spain and will receive plenty of support from the vociferous fans.

Odds subject to change